Yeddyurappa's 'chicken' barb shows BJP's nervousness: Shiv Sena

Slamming Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa over his remarks that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had consumed meat before visiting a temple Shiv Sena on Thursday said that discussing such issues during poll campaign shows the "sick mentality" of the "nervous" BJP.

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Three days back, Yeddyurappa had hit out at Rahul Gandhi for reportedly visiting a temple after eating "Javari chicken" during his tour of northern parts of the poll-bound state.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi gave the BJP family sleepless nights in Gujarat. It looks as if the same is going to be repeated in the Karnataka (Assembly elections). Rahul Gandhi visited a number of temples in Gujarat and offered prayers there.

That time, the BJP criticised him severely, as it was worried about its own existence thinking what will happen if the Congress leader adopted Hindutva," the Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana said.

Gandhi, during his election, had stopped at Kanakagiri in Koppal district and visited the Kanakachala Laxmi-Narasimha temple.

The write-up also claimed that the Congress will corner the BJP in the upcoming Karnataka elections, similar to what they did last year ahead of the Gujarat polls by adopting "soft Hindutva".

"Now, election rallies are being held in Karnataka and there is an exchange of allegations between the BJP and the Congress.

Like in Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi has been visiting mosques as well as temples in that state. This has angered the BJP's chief ministerial face, B S Yeddyurappa, who accused Gandhi of visiting a temple after consuming meat," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.

And though the Congress immediately issued a clarification saying that Rahul Gandhi had a vegetarian meal before visiting the temple, according to Shiv Sena, the whole incident only shows the new "low" that this election campaign has touched.

"Discussing such issues during the election campaign is a sign of sick mentality," the Sena noted.

The piece further read that one should not hurt people's religious sentiments, and also should not see what others were eating.

"Every religious place has its own customs and traditions. There are temples in Maharashtra where meat is offered to the deity...Raking up such issues in election campaigns displays a sick mentality.

Only they know what was there in Rahul Gandhi's plate. But we are sure that it has turned the BJP nervous," the party added.

The Sena said that instead of thinking about whether former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a vegetarian or not, it was important to note that she divided Pakistan.

The Sena, in his mouth-piece, also hit out at Yeddyurappa over the violence at Karnataka border during his tenure as Karnataka chief minister.

"During 'vegetarian' Yedyurappa's tenure as the chief minister, the blood of Marathi speaking people living in Karnataka's border areas was shed after they were hit by violence. This violence is also a kind of non vegetarianism!" the Sena said.